Pattern analysis in Belgian limestone grasslands

Pattern analyses were made in several limestone grasslands of Belgium. Vegetation has been sampled in continuous transects. Monospecific patterns are defined by means of two non-parametric indices; multivariate analysis (reciprocal averaging) completed the analysis. The following kinds of pattern are described and explained: random, aggregate, clump, gap, stationary density variation, non-stationary density variation, gradient and many complex patterns. The multivariate analysis leads to a careful phytosociological study of the transects and to the definition of floristically homogeneous regions. Some particular points of pattern analysis, the problem of vegetation sampling and some perspectives are discussed.     

Robust ecological drought projections for drylands in the 21st century

Dryland ecosystems may be especially vulnerable to expected 21st century increases in temperature and aridity because they are tightly controlled by moisture availability. However, climate impact assessments in drylands are difficult because ecological dynamics are dictated by drought conditions that are difficult to define and complex to estimate from climate conditions alone. In addition, precipitation projections vary substantially among climate models, enhancing variation in overall trajectories for aridity. Here, we constrain this uncertainty by utilizing an ecosystem water balance model to quantify drought conditions with recognized ecological importance, and by identifying changes in ecological drought conditions that are robust among climate models, defined here as when >90% of models agree in the direction of change. Despite limited evidence for robust changes in precipitation, changes in ecological drought are robust over large portions of drylands in the United States and Canada. Our results suggest strong regional differences in long‐term drought trajectories, epitomized by chronic drought increases in southern areas, notably the Upper Gila Mountains and South‐Central Semi‐arid Prairies, and decreases in the north, particularly portions of the Temperate and West‐Central Semi‐arid Prairies. However, we also found that exposure to hot‐dry stress is increasing faster than mean annual temperature over most of these drylands, and those increases are greatest in northern areas. Robust shifts in seasonal drought are most apparent during the cool season; when soil water availability is projected to increase in northern regions and decrease in southern regions. The implications of these robust drought trajectories for ecosystems will vary geographically, and these results provide useful insights about the impact of climate change on these dryland ecosystems. More broadly, this approach of identifying robust changes in ecological drought may be useful for other assessments of climate impacts in drylands and provide a more rigorous foundation for making long‐term strategic resource management decisions.     

Biochar soil amendments in prairie restorations do not interfere with benefits from inoculation with native arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi

Little of the historical extent of tallgrass prairie ecosystems remains in North America, and therefore there is strong interest in restoring prairies. However, slow‐growing prairie plants are initially weak competitors with the fast‐growing yet short‐lived weedy plant species that are typically abundant in recently established prairie restorations. One way to aid establishment of slow‐growing plant species is through adding soil amendments to prairie restorations before planting. Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi form mutualisms with the roots of most terrestrial plants and are particularly important for the growth of slow‐growing prairie plant species. As prairie ecosystems are adapted to fires that leave biochar (charred organic material) in the soil, adding biochar as well as AM fungal strains from undisturbed remnant prairies into the soil of prairie restorations may improve restoration outcomes. Here, we test this prediction during the first four growing seasons of a prairie restoration. When prairie plant seedlings were inoculated prior to planting into the field with AM fungi derived from remnant prairies, that one‐time inoculation significantly increased growth of five of the nine tested plant species through at least two growing seasons. This long‐term benefit of AM fungal inoculation was unaffected by biochar addition to the soil. Biochar application rates of at least 10 tons/ha significantly decreased Coreopsis tripteris growth but acted synergistically with AM fungal inoculation to significantly improve survival of Schizachyrium scoparium. Overall, inoculation with native AM fungi can help promote prairie plant establishment, but concomitant use of biochar soil amendments had relatively little effect.     

Success of active restoration in grasslands: a case study of birds in southern Brazil

Grasslands in southeastern South America have been extensively converted to various land uses such as agriculture, threatening regional biodiversity. Active restoration has been viewed as a management alternative for recovery of degraded areas worldwide, although most studies are conducted in forests and none has evaluated the effect of active restoration of grasslands in southeastern South America. From 2015 through 2017 we monitored a federally owned tract of grassland from the beginning of the active‐restoration process. We compared the bird community in this active‐restoration area (AR) with a reference area (NG) in Pampa grasslands in southern Brazil. We sampled birds by point counts and surveyed vegetation structure in plots. Over the 3 years of active restoration, bird species richness and abundance were higher in AR (30 species, 171 individuals) than NG (22 species, 154 individuals). The species composition also differed between the two habitats. Grassland bird species were present in both AR and NG. The vegetation structure differed between AR and NG in five attributes: height, short and tall grasses, herbs, and shrubs. Since it has been found that active restoration is useful in promoting species diversity, we encourage studies of the use of long‐term restoration efforts. Our study, even on a local scale, showed a rapid recovery of the bird community in the active‐restoration compared to native grassland, and suggests the potential for recovery of the degraded grasslands of the Brazilian Pampa biome.     

Fire affects the taxonomic and functional composition of soil microbial communities,with cascading effects on grassland ecosystem functioning

Fire is a crucial event regulating the structure and functioning of many ecosystems. Yet few studies have focused on how fire affects taxonomic and functional diversities of soil microbial communities, along with changes in plant communities and soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) dynamics. Here, we analyze these effects in a grassland ecosystem 9 months after an experimental fire at the Jasper Ridge Global Change Experiment site in California, USA. Fire altered soil microbial communities considerably, with community assembly process analysis showing that environmental selection pressure was higher in burned sites. However, a small subset of highly connected taxa was able to withstand the disturbance. In addition, fire decreased the relative abundances of most functional genes associated with C degradation and N cycling, implicating a slowdown of microbial processes linked to soil C and N dynamics. In contrast, fire stimulated above‐ and belowground plant growth, likely enhancing plant–microbe competition for soil inorganic N, which was reduced by a factor of about 2. To synthesize those findings, we performed structural equation modeling, which showed that plants but not microbial communities were responsible for significantly higher soil respiration rates in burned sites. Together, our results demonstrate that fire ‘reboots’ the grassland ecosystem by differentially regulating plant and soil microbial communities, leading to significant changes in soil C and N dynamics.     

不同类型高寒草地群落结构与生产对施氮的响应及其敏感性

大气氮沉降增加被认为是目前重要的环境问题,会引起生物多样性的丧失和生态系统稳定性的降低。但作为草地改良的管理措施,养分添加被广泛应用于退化草地的恢复。但由于不同类型草地所处气候与群落组成的差异,对氮输入的响应可能不同。通过在藏北高原高寒草甸与高寒草甸草原设定长期氮添加梯度试验(对照, 25, 50, 100, 200 kg N hm~(-2) a~(-1)),来探讨氮输入对生物多样性与生产的影响,并估算不同类型高寒草地的氮饱和阈值。施氮对高寒草甸物种多样性指数无影响,而随着施氮量的提高高寒草甸草原植物物种数和多样性指数均逐渐降低。开始施肥前两年,随着施氮量提高高寒草甸地上生物量呈现逐渐增加趋势,随着施肥时间的延长地上生物量呈现先增加后降低的趋势。在高寒草甸草原随着施氮量提高地上生物量均呈现先增加后降低的趋势。随着施氮量提高,开始施氮前三年高寒草甸禾草植物地上生物量逐渐提高;随着施氮时间的延长,禾草和豆科植物地上生物量呈现先增加后降低的趋势。高寒草甸莎草植物地上生物量由施氮开始时的逐渐增加转变为先增加后降低趋势,最后变为逐渐降低的趋势,这说明施氮不利于莎草植物的生长。施氮只在施肥第四年显著提高杂草植物地上生物量。高寒草甸草原呈现不同的规律,开始施氮前三年随着施氮量提高,禾草植物地上生物量呈现先增加后降低的趋势;随着施氮时间的延长,禾草地上生物量逐渐提高。莎草和杂草植物地上生物量呈现先增加后降低趋势。利用对氮输入响应最敏感的植物功能群禾草生物量估算的高寒草甸和高寒草甸草原的氮饱和阈值分别是109.5、125.8 kg N hm~(-2) a~(-1),这说明高寒草甸氮敏感性显著高于高寒草甸草原。由此可见,未来氮沉降增加会对不同类型高寒草地产生不同的影响,在不同类型高寒草地进行施肥恢复时也应将氮饱和阈值的差异考虑在内。     

Habitat matters – Strong genetic and epigenetic differentiation in Linum catharticum from dry and wet grasslands

Plant species differ in their ecological amplitude, with some species occurring in very different habitats under strongly differentiated environmental conditions. We were interested in to what extent the occurrence of Linum catharticum in dry calcareous grasslands (Bromion) and wet litter meadows (Molinion), two habitats on opposing ends concerning, for example, moisture level, is reflected on the genetic and epigenetic level. Using AFLP (amplified fragment length polymorphisms) and MSAP (methylation sensitive amplification polymorphisms) analyses, we studied the genetic and epigenetic variation of L. catharticum from calcareous grasslands and litter meadows. From each habitat, we included five study sites with 16 individuals per sampling location. We observed lower genetic than epigenetic diversity, but considerable differentiation among habitats, which was stronger on the genetic than the epigenetic level. Additionally, we observed a strong correlation of genetic and epigenetic distance, irrespective of geographic distance. The dataset included a large portion of fragments exclusively found in individuals from one or the other habitat. Some epigenetic fragments even occurred in different methylation states depending on the habitat. We conclude that environmental effects act on both the genetic and epigenetic level, producing the clear differentiation among plant individuals from calcareous grasslands and litter meadows. These results may also point into the direction of ecotype formation in this species.     

Unexpected larval habit of Listronotus bonariensis (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) raises questions about population dynamics analysis and management

Listronotus bonariensis (Kuschel) is a pest of agriculturally important graminaceous species, with mining larvae that kill the stems of the host plants. In this study, larval populations were measured in spring and summer in irrigated dairy grassland comprising Lolium perenne L. (cv. Nui) with and without the endophyte Epichloë festucae var. lolii Latch, M.J. Chr. and Samuels and Poa annua L.. Larvae were extracted from tillers taken from the swards of these two grass species and extracted from turves, and L. bonariensis population densities were estimated from tiller and turf larval counts on a m⁻² basis. Over the study period, the total number of larvae and larval densities extracted from turves was on average 2× greater than indicated from tillers. In most seasons, larval densities from turves were significantly higher than those from the tillers, though there was no correlation between tiller and turf larval densities. Mean head capsule widths of larvae emerging from turf samples showed significant seasonal effects compared with tillers, while mean head capsule widths of all four instars were significantly greater when extracted from tillers compared with turves. There was a significant endophyte effect on head capsule widths of larvae collected in summer, but the effect was not consistent across instars or source. Conversely, no significant endophyte effect on head capsule width was found in spring populations from either tillers or turves. This study shows that in irrigated dairy pasture, a high proportion of L. bonariensis larvae can live externally of tillers, presumably among the organic matter around the base of grasses in irrigated dairy pasture, and that density estimates based only on tiller populations will have significantly underestimated actual numbers. Having a precise indication of larval population densities is essential when developing life tables or determining economic damage threshold levels.     

草地利用方式对温性典型草原优势种植物功能性状的影响

当外界环境发生变化后植物能够改变自身功能性状及时调整适应策略, 因此植物功能性状能够有效地反映植物对草地利用变化的响应, 然而在内蒙古草原从植物功能性状角度开展草地利用方式影响的研究略少。该研究以内蒙古典型草原大针茅(Stipa grandis)、羊草(Leymus chinensis)、糙隐子草(Cleistogenes squarrosa)和冷蒿(Artemisia frigida) 4种主要优势种为研究对象, 探讨在长期自由放牧、割草、短期围封和长期无干扰的影响下优势种植物功能性状的差异, 以期从功能性状视角, 揭示植物在受到外界干扰后的适应策略, 旨为天然草地的可持续管理提供基础数据支持和科学依据。结果表明: 1)除糙隐子草外, 在长期放牧后内蒙古典型草原优势植物植株高度、根长和植物碳氮含量降低, 这些性状的变化能够使植物个体小型化, 适口性降低, 表明植物通过逃避放牧的策略适应长期自由放牧的干扰; 在割草管理方式下, 优势种的高度和比叶面积有增加的趋势, 其中冷蒿的氮含量对割草响应最敏感, 其根、茎、叶中的氮含量均在割草样地最低; 围封和长期无干扰处理下植物的碳氮含量增加, 表明在干扰强度降低后, 植物通过功能性状的改变从资源获取策略向资源储藏策略转变。2)对优势种功能性状集合分析表明, 糙隐子草具有较低的植株高度和较高的比叶面积, 冷蒿具有较高的木质素含量和氮含量, 这些性状能够使两种植物被家畜采食量减少, 并保证其具有较强的再生能力, 这可能是糙隐子草和冷蒿耐牧的原因; 大针茅具有最高的植株高度、最大的叶片干物质含量, 以及最高的茎、叶纤维素含量, 说明大针茅是非常典型的竞争物种, 在干扰较低的条件下, 大针茅采取竞争策略对其他物种产生较大的竞争压力可能是其占优势的重要原因。